Northern Pass reached another significant milestone yesterday when the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NH DOT) issued its final report to the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee (NH SEC) recommending approval of the project. This follows the March 1 announcement by the NH Department of Environmental Services which also recommended approval of the project. Both are essential components of the state siting process being conducted by the NH SEC, which is scheduled to render a final decision on the Northern Pass application later this year.

The approval by the NH DOT follows a series of important milestones and achievements for Northern Pass, which include:

The NH SEC completed the “discovery phase” of the permitting process, which involved nine months of data requests, document production and technical sessions. The final phase of the state permitting process begins with the commencement of final adjudicative hearings on April 13. The hearings are the last step in the state siting process before the SEC makes its decision on Northern Pass

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) issued four key approvals of the project, pertaining to the Wetland, Shoreland and Alteration of Terrain permits, and the 401 Water Quality Certificate. The approvals are essential components of the state siting process being conducted by the SEC, and according to DES, mark the conclusion of the agency’s review of the project’s siting application

As part of the permitting process for the Northern Pass transmission project, the NH SEC has held 40 technical sessions – these sessions are an informal opportunity for the parties involved in the Northern Pass state review process to ask and answer questions

Northern Pass submitted an updated economic analysis to the NH SEC showing that the project will reduce wholesale energy costs in New England by more than $600 million annually, and eliminate more than 3 million tons of carbon emissions in the region each year

Northern Pass secured a key regulatory approval as ISO New England officially determined that the clean energy project can reliably interconnect with the regional electric grid

The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission granted Northern Pass utility status, determining that the project has the technical, managerial, and financial expertise to operate as a public utility once the project is fully permitted, and that it is in the public good for the project to do so

The NH SEC and the U.S. Department of Energy held a series of public meetings across New Hampshire to gather feedback as part of their respective permitting processes

Business leaders from across the state announced their support for Northern Pass in a joint statement to the NH SEC. The diverse group of New Hampshire businesses, including some of the state’s largest employers, urged elected officials to join them as they support the Forward NH Plan, and the “direct economic and unparalleled environmental benefits it will provide to the people and businesses of New Hampshire”

The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in favor of Northern Pass – confirming that the proposal by Northern Pass to use public highways for underground installation of electric transmission lines is clearly allowed under state law